An Interesting History of Freemasonry

I saw the following linked article on Collector's Weekly today. It give a long defense of secret societies and specifically discusses the Masons. I
have known many Masons including a 33rd degree Mason and was married to a woman who's grandfather was also a 33rd degree Mason (I never met him, he
was already dead). The Masons I know are all decent men who joined in order to advance their careers. That is just a fact. Here is a link to the
article

Here is my problem with the article, it is just deceitful and washes over the whole history. Most Mason never go beyond the third degree. Those who do
have a purpose, it takes effort and they are judged by many criteria as they go forward. It is also expensive. The article attempts to claim that the
wealthy (and others) joined the Masons for entertainment, ENTERTAINMENT. They joined the lodges so that they could see the shows, that is what the
article claims. The article is the weakest piece of propaganda I have read in a long time. It is both insulting to Freemasons and the public. I know
some Masons will read this and if you do, reply and tell me how you joined and stayed in the Masons for the plays.

While I have no problem with someone being a Mason (although I strongly object to the oath), the Masons have certainly used their influence in history
and to deny it is to lie. The Masons don't deny it, they relish in it and are proud to tell you how Masons have helped shape America. I do not
believe that the king of Sweden was the head of the Swedish Order just because he liked the shows, it is ridiculous. The Masons do not rule the world;
but, to deny that they have influenced it is simple naive.

It is a fact that Masons controlled much of the British legal system and you can look it up, they also heavily influenced their courts (judges,
lawyers). The Masons have had branches that promoted occultism and one begun in Italy that called the (from Wikipedia)
Propaganda Due that was prepared to take over Italy. Read through the list of people it
included and ask yourself why they joined in the first place, they must have loved seeing the same show time after time.

This thread is not meant in anyway to attack Masons. Let me make it very clear, I don't know any "bad" people who are Masons. Secret societies
provide bad people with an opportunity to pervert their organizations. What I am questioning is the fairness of the article and the authors sincerity.

Originally posted by AQuestion
The Masons I know .......... joined in order to advance their careers. That is just a fact.

Freemasonry specifically frowns upon using Freemasonry to further one's career. In general, it does not impact on one's career at all.

Most Mason never go beyond the third degree.

Actually, most do join the other side orders.

Those who do have a purpose, it takes effort and they are judged by many criteria as they go forward.

Not true. A Mason can decide to join a side order if he wishes. Once he joins, he will generally do all the degrees in that order - this is the way
that Freemasonry works. We have a ceremony at every meeting, so we always need candidates. Therefore, whoever is next in line chronologically will be
put through the next degree.

It is also expensive.

On average, it costs roughly the equivalent of US $70 per year, including all the side orders.

It is both insulting to Freemasons and the public. I know some Masons will read this and if you do, reply and tell me how you joined and stayed
in the Masons for the plays.

While the rituals are very important, they are only a part of Freemasonry.

Granted, without the rituals, Freemasonry would not exist. Think of the parts of Freemasonry as the parts of a plane. Without the wings (the rituals)
the plane could not fly. But just the wings without the rest of the plane are also useless.

The Freemasons were once a respectable group who believed, practiced and taught the pure and true wisdom traditions and as such, were the perfect
place to infiltrate by the selfish and greedy criminal gangsters who now run the planet. Freemasonry is corrupted and a mere shell of its once great
presence in this god-forsaken world.

George Washington had different ideas about the future of America than the Zionists who took over... and was killed by the Jesuit Cup of Borgia. If
one thinks this guy who survived Valley Forge died of a cold from not changing his wet clothes then one should just get and believe all their
information from Wiki and call it a day.

First, that the Freemasons were infiltrated by greedy criminals that even now run the planet. Really? Who are they? What Lodge were they Initiated,
Passed and Raised in? What crimes did they commit? How is it that "they" rule the planet?

George Washington had different ideas of America than the "Zionists" who took over? Again, what Zionists took over? What office or influence did they
have? Are you saying that Washington didn't support the Constitution and the Bill of Rights?

The last claim is the doozy though, Washington didn't succumb to illness as an old man because he survived worse when he was a young man! If only this
were so, unfortunately age does make us all frail compared to the days our youth. The elderly must take great care not to get sick as even a common
illness can cause death even now. Mortality would have been even higher before the advent of antibiotics and modern medicine.

I have strong doubts that he died as a result of a Jesuit plot. Why would they slay a man at the end of his days as he puttered around his plantation?
My common sense tells me...they didn't.

Here is my problem with the article, it is just deceitful and washes over the whole history.

Yeah, I wasn't too impressed by it either.

It is also expensive.

Yes it is...

The Masons don't deny it, they relish in it and are proud to tell you how Masons have helped shape America.

I'm actually writing an article for the Idaho Lodge of Research on the founding of America and Freemasonry.

It is a fact that Masons controlled much of the British legal system and you can look it up, they also heavily influenced their courts (judges,
lawyers).

Where is a good place to get the statistics on this?

The Masons have had branches that promoted occultism and one begun in Italy that called the (from Wikipedia) Propaganda Due that was prepared
to take over Italy.

P2 was a Lodge that existed, for a time, under the Grand Orient of Italy (GOI). P2 lost its charter in the late 70s and existed for quite a time
until the infamous incident in the 80s. The GOI wasn't, itself, even recognized until the early 90s. P2 was as clandestine and irregular as a
"Masonic Lodge" can get.

This thread is not meant in anyway to attack Masons.

I don't see this thread as an attack. Thank you for that, it is nice to see a non-Mason come in here and have a civil conversation.

How has Freemasonry been perverted? Our rituals haven't changed. Our philanthropies have either remained the same or actually expanded in the scope
and funds.

You think that George Washington was killed by Jesuits? Seriously? .For his time, he lived to be pretty old. How hard is it to be believe he may of
died from a cold? He was, obviously, older than he was at Valley Forge. You make a lot of assumptions without any proof or evidence.

How has Freemasonry been perverted? Our rituals haven't changed. Our philanthropies have either remained the same or actually expanded in the scope
and funds.

You think that George Washington was killed by Jesuits? Seriously? .For his time, he lived to be pretty old. How hard is it to be believe he may of
died from a cold? He was, obviously, older than he was at Valley Forge. You make a lot of assumptions without any proof or evidence.

Rituals haven't changed since when? I'm going back a long way, Sir. You might want to read the bottom six articles on this page, entitled
"Jesuitry and Masonry" from someone who was right in the thick of things, not to mention her psychic abilities.

In fact, ALL the articles in this series are a must read for anybody interested in the truth.

I read this, and now I must ask...did you? And if you did, did you understand what you read? This compilation of Blavatsky's (who would be
considered an irregular Freemason by the mainstream English and American Lodges) thoughts should be read in the context of the Great Schism of 1877.
In that era, the GOdF and the UGLE (the two principle Grand Lodges of Europe) and other Grand Bodies of the World were having conferences discussing
the possibility of changing the requirement of belief in Supreme Being to that of a Creative Principle. The idea had some support in both UK and USA,
but was stymied by the GL's of Ireland and Scotland who objected that it would be withdrawal from the insistence of monotheistic belief in membership
(others have cynically said that it was a political play on the part of these two small GL's who would be overwhelmed by the much larger GL and GO in
England and France). Anyway, the majority of GL's decided to maintain the required belief in Supreme Being and the French withdrew support for
"creative principle" in favor of eliminating the requirement of belief at all! GL's gradually withdrew support of the Grand Orient of France. So
Blavatsky believed this coup was somehow aided by Jesuits...was it? Perhaps, but what significance is it to anyone who is not associated with
Freemasonry...none.

In America, the person who had the most profound affect on American Masonry and its ritual, to include the York Rite, was Thomas Smith-Webb. His
monitor (of which I own a copy of now), first published in 1797, has remained fairly the same since its day. Particularly in the York Rite, the
degrees are essentially the same as they were in those days.

Blavatsky herself stated that she never went through any mainstream or regular body of Freemasonry.

In regards to the Masons in England and their involvement in the courts, it was a big scandal a few years back. Here is one article on it from The
Independent - Masons surrender over police scandals .
There are other articles on the situation that existed. I certainly would not use what happened there to say that it is common in Masonic lodges. My
point was simply that if you provide people an opportunity to conspire in secret, you are likely to attract some people who wish to. Peace.

Originally posted by AQuestion
In regards to the Masons in England and their involvement in the courts, it was a big scandal a few years back.

Apparently not as big as you
make it out to be.

Here is one article on it from The Independent -
Masons surrender over police scandals . There are
other articles on the situation that existed. I certainly would not use what happened there to say that it is common in Masonic lodges. My point was
simply that if you provide people an opportunity to conspire in secret, you are likely to attract some people who wish to. Peace.

So, from
your own source, 161 people were under investigation and only 17 were Masons. Not sure how this can shine a bad light on Masonry considering 90% of
the people who were doing wrong were not Masons.

Freemasons yesterday provided a list of eight out of about 60 police officers, a small number
of journalists, magistrates, judges and a barrister, connected to the IRA pub bombings investigation that lead to the wrongful conviction of the
Birmingham Six; seven names from 96 members of disbanded West Midland Serious Crime Squad; and two out of seven officers connected to the
John Stalker affair, in which the deputy chief constable of Greater Manchester was suspended from his investigation into whether the RUC operated
a shoot-to-kill policy.

Emphasis added. Clearly they were the minority in all cases. So why blame Masons?

It was around this time that there was a call in the UK for Masons in parliament to make their affiliation public. That law was later rescinded
because it came out that there wasn't nearly the wrongdoing that the public imagined there was.

Freemasonry is a tool meant for those who seek answers to eternal questions of humanity. Where are the seekers going today? It is a heavy task to
reconcile people with views so far apart. Guess this is a pretty valid and wise reason politics and religion are not discussed at meetings. On my
advise it would be of great help to include the feminine aspect for balance even at the cost some might find this disruptive.

Emphasis added. Clearly they were the minority in all cases. So why blame Masons?

Actually, if you read what I have written from the beginning, you will see that I do not blame the "Masons". My point was that the Masons, like any
other group, have people that seek to use the group to achieve goals for personal reasons. As for what happened in England, it was a big deal at the
time. If I had sought to attack Masons, I would have asked about having an oath that says you will kill people for discussing it's secrets. As for
their influence, you cannot claim to be in an organization that takes credit for influencing the world and then say that they did not. My issue was
with the article that I referenced in the OP.

Originally posted by Saurus
On average, it costs roughly the equivalent of US $70 per year, including all the side orders.

(sigh) if only this were still so..sadly no it is quite a bit more when you include appendent bodies, and 70$ usually does not cover just blue lodge
anymore in many states......bills are getting higher.....that said, this is close enough for blue lodge....but while costs have gone up....it's still
very affordable. I do fear rising costs for appendent body memberships is causing more and more brother's on fixed incomes or out of work to let
their dues lapse....

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